Iran releases 10 US sailors

Iran said early Wednesday that it had released 10 U.S. sailors that were detained on Tuesday “for crossing into Iranian territorial waters.”

A statement by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps said the sailors were taken to international waters and freed.

U.S. Navy Central Command said in a statement from Bahrain that there are no indications that the sailors were harmed.

"The Sailors departed Farsi Island at 8:43 a.m. (GMT), aboard the two Riverine Command Boats (RCB) that they had been operating when they lost contact with the U.S. Navy," the statement reads. "The Sailors were later transferred ashore by U.S. Navy aircraft, while other Sailors took charge of the RCBs and continued transiting toward Bahrain, the boats' original destination.

"The Navy will investigate the circumstances that led to the Sailors' presence in Iran."

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The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, as saying “what happened to American sailors on Tuesday proved how vulnerable the US is in front of powerful Iranian forces.”

Firouzabadi said the U.S. would be facing “yet another crisis now” if it weren’t for the “good intentions of the Iranian commanders,” IRNA added.

Iran said the U.S. Navy boats were stopped when they illegally entered Iranian waters near Farsi Island in the middle of the Persian Gulf.